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Russian diplomats wait for reply from Germany to prosecutors’ request for data on Navalny

Earlier in the day, the German cabinet issued a statement that the Russian opposition politician had been exposed to a Novichok-class nerve agent
Russian Foreign Ministry  Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Moscow continues to wait for a reply to the request filed by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office for information about the treatment of blogger Alexei Navalny, his diagnosis and results of the medical examination, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Wednesday commenting on the German cabinet’s statement that Navalny had been exposed to a Novichok-class nerve agent.

"We are waiting for a reply to the request by the Prosecutor General’s Office," the foreign ministry said.

Earlier in the day, the German Cabinet’s Spokesperson Steffen Seibert said that at the initiative of the Charite hospital the Bundeswehr’s special laboratory had carried out toxicological analysis of Alexei Navalny’s test samples. The analysis provided indisputable proof of the presence of a Novichok class nerve agent, he said. Seibert added that Chancellor Angela Merkel held a meeting with some ministers and agreed a number of steps in the light of the latest data. According to the spokesman, the German Foreign Ministry is to inform Russia’s ambassador on the results of the tests. The European Union, NATO and the OPCW will also be briefed about Navalny.

Navalny was rushed to hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk on August 20 after collapsing on the Tomsk-Moscow flight. He was in a coma and was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. On August 22, he was airlifted to the German hospital Charite. On August 24, German doctors said that indicators of cholinesterase inhibitors had been found in his body. The doctors added that his life was out of danger but long-term complications for his nervous system could not be ruled out.